


Starting Somewhere

by DarayFlair



Series: Jalec Prompt Challenge 2021 <3 [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alec Lightwood & Jace Wayland Friendship, Angst with a Happy Ending, Even when they are just kids, First Meetings, Friendship, Gen, I think?, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Jace has bruises and Alec can't help but care about people., Kid Fic, Nightmares, Pre-Canon, Protective Alec Lightwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:07:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29731569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarayFlair/pseuds/DarayFlair
Summary: Written with inspiration from Jace and Alec's first meeting as Alec tells it in Lord of Shadows in chapter 20 on page 410 (Thank you discord helpers for finding such information for me). It doesn't have spoilers though since we all know that Jace and Alec met and that's all this ficlet is.
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Jace Wayland
Series: Jalec Prompt Challenge 2021 <3 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2185032
Comments: 10
Kudos: 10
Collections: Jalec Prompt Challenge - February





	Starting Somewhere

##  Starting Somewhere

"Hurry up, Alec!" Izzy called impatiently over her shoulder, "Mom will be here any minute."

She and Max were racing down the hallways, excited to see our mom return home. I was too but still hesitant. The fire message from Idris was different. Something was happening. I could feel it.

Rounding the corner, I heard the portal from Idris crackling open. It flared and pulsed for a few moments before two figures stepped through.

I knew it. I must have sighed or make a face because Izzy's sharp elbow to my arm had me wincing. I glared at her, "Told you."

"Change can be -" Her words were cut short, and I followed her gaze.

He was around Izzy's age by the looks of him, but it was hard to tell. His blonde hair was cut short, sticking up at all angles. Somehow it still looked purposeful unlike mine that just had a mind of its own these days. He was clean though the clothes on him were obviously a bit big. His hands were swallowed in his sleeves when he let go of our Mom once portal snapped closed. I glimpsed a flash of split knuckles. Finally, looking at his face, I tensed. Thin almost gaunt cheeks gave his face an angular look and a large purplish black bruise painted itself completely across one side of his temple.

"Jonathan." The boy, Jonathan, fixed his attention completely on Mom as she spoke. "These are my children." Mom gestured formally to each of us in turn, introducing us by our full names. He dismissively looked over and then continued taking in his surroundings once more. Jonathan's eyes never settled on one thing for long before his survey continued. That when I realized what he was doing. Assessing everything. Collecting information about the room, Izzy, Mom, and Max. Our subtlest movements and interactions.

Mom continued to bulldoze our lives with little hesitation, "He will be staying with us and will be joining your lessons this afternoon." The silence that met such a declaration was answer enough. "Until then, I expect you all to show him around, start getting him situated." 

With that Mom left. Her heels briskly clicking away to go take care of business.

I had unknowingly moved in front of and closer to Izzy and Max, who had both stayed uncharacteristically silent. Izzy tenseness radiated off her, stilling even Max's unfailingly easy nature. Jonathan was unsettling. 

Scrutinizing him closer I understood Izzy's reluctance. It was like Jonathan was ready for anything. You'd think he was posed to attack at a moment's notice except...there was an air of unease. A restlessness. Unspoken foreboding. Violence.

Jonathan's unfamiliar voice had a superior quality to it, "So what other grand rooms does this place have?"

"Got to start somewhere..." Mumbling, I forced a tight-lipped smile, took Max's hand, and began the tour sardonically, "We'll help you find a grand room of your own. Izzy can tell you all about the Institute." Jonathan was here for a bit it seemed. Maybe unleashing Max's never-ending energy and Izzy's wicked fast talking would make him want to go back home.

Pressing myself further into the alcove of a doorway, I held my breath and listened. My whole body, every muscle was taunt. The grip on my bow dung into my sore hands. If only I could have runes, but the ceremony was still a few days away. It honestly couldn't come fast enough. I'd move more silence, hear farther, be better.

There was a short piercing scream that abruptly cut off. It filtered out from behind the door across from me. I couldn't help the sense of relief and then dread when I placed the sound.

It was horrible. Even on the rare occasion that Izzy had nightmares, her screams weren't filled with such terror.

Before I could second guess myself, I made my way over to the newly occupied room. Jace's permanent room.

I slipped in without thinking, pausing when the door clicked shut behind me. The sound made him flinch. Jace sat with his back pressed against the headboard. His teeth clenching and unclenching, working the muscles in his jaw. I frowned at the shirt he still wore from earlier that evening. The hem of his sleeves moved as he fidgeted with the material. Almost a skittish quality.

"You okay?"

He straightened up, glaring at me like asking such had been an insult, "Of course I am."

The shirt had pulled completely off one of his shoulders and revealed yet another ugly bruise. I nodded towards it. "I just meant..."

Jace adjusted his shirt, still glaring. "They'll heal soon. Are you sneaking out?"

"What?" I remembered my bow, "No. Practicing. My rune ceremony is in a couple of days."

Confusion laced his next question, "But we aren't allowed to be training right now?"

"We can train whenever we want." It was true we could, but I knew at this hour I defiantly would have been in trouble. "I want to be strong enough for my first rune."

"They don't hurt too much."

Shock and horror filled me. "You have runes? Already?" 

He nodded solemnly. "For a while now. My father gave them to me. I haven't had my ceremony yet though." Then added with a roguish smile, "Got to start somewhere, right?"

I had no words after such an admission. Jace did that though. Said things without seeming to know the effect his words had on others. Like getting runes too young. No wonder the kid had nightmares. If not from the runes carved into his skin by one who was supposed to protect him, then visions of the same father he saw brutally murdered not long ago. Our eyes met for the first time, steady and without judgement. The room's shadows highlighted the bruised side of his face and I recalled his earlier words like a physical blow. Distraction worked best against my sibling's nightmares. "You should have a proper ceremony."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and prompts to help me write better are always welcome!


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